Oasis of the Seas, the most recent line launched by Royal Caribbean Cruises. It is 20-stories tall and 1,180 feet long it is now the largest passenger liner afloat. It is five times the size of the Titanic and has lodging available for 6,300 passengers. The crew total is 2,100 and too many buffet tables to count. At a cost of $1.3 billion to build, this ship was six years in the making. This cruise liner is the definition of luxury travel. It was build in Turku, Finland and from there made its maiden voyage with its amphitheatre that seats 750 people outdoors. It also offers a mini-golf course, basketball and volleyball courts, an ice rink and an indoor theatre for 1,300 and enough swimming pools to satisfy everyone.
Although this ship has been compared to the Titanic, designers feel it is an undue comparison. This ship’s interaction with an iceberg would be an unlikely concern says Assistant professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of Michigan Matthew Collette, “All ships are designed to make the chance of large-scale structural collapse very remote.” He went on to say, “If it was struck by one I would expect there to be some local damage at the point of impact – broken portholes, bent railings, but little else.”
